My skeeterpee primary has at least 5.5g in it, and this was a mistake because i was using ec-1118 and not just a slurry left over from some other wine. I suspect that there is a whole gallon and a half in there after racking losses.

Does the secondary carboy need to be small enough that i have limited surface area? That could be a problem because my free carboys at the moment are an 18L carboy that does not hold 5 gallons, a 5g carboy that holds maybe 5.25g, and a 6.5g carboy that holds 7 gallons and change (great for big beers).

Should i rack as much of it as i can into the 5g carboy for addition of k-meta and sorbate and back sweetening and then just bottle the rest of it as-is, or just drink it mixed with some 7up or something?

Or should i get it into the 6.5g carboy and just flush the headspace with co2?

My skeeterpee primary has at least 5.5g in it, and this was a mistake because i was using ec-1118 and not just a slurry left over from some other wine. I suspect that there is a whole gallon and a half in there after racking losses.

Does the secondary carboy need to be small enough that i have limited surface area? That could be a problem because my free carboys at the moment are an 18L carboy that does not hold 5 gallons, a 5g carboy that holds maybe 5.25g, and a 6.5g carboy that holds 7 gallons and change (great for big beers).

Should i rack as much of it as i can into the 5g carboy for addition of k-meta and sorbate and back sweetening and then just bottle the rest of it as-is, or just drink it mixed with some 7up or something?

Or should i get it into the 6.5g carboy and just flush the headspace with co2?

ive done the same once and had about a gallon left so i filled 2 growlers and still have them after 2 years.. idk if i want to try them yet!! lemon lime soda is awesome with unsweetend pee

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Originally Posted by cadarnell

'how will i explain this to my kids' ... if i have to ask that, then i think my kids are in trouble ... just my 2 cents ... HAVE A BEER !!!

Be cautious using wine conditioner. It's not a bad product, you just need to understand how it works. The sorbate in a bottle of wine conditioner is a measured amount dissolved into the total contents. You'll need to make sure you use enough wine conditioner to properly but not over medicate your wine.

Think of it this way: If you wanted to take two aspirin for a headache, you could take the two aspirin and wash it down with a quarter cup of water. But if you dissolved the two aspirin in a cup of water and then drank the quarter cup of water, you'd only be getting half an aspirin and your headache may not go away. Likewise, if you made a double batch by mixing 4 aspirin in two cups of water, you couldn't drink more than a cup of water without over-medicating.

I usually remind people to treat their batch with K-meta whenever they add wine conditioner too. Without the K-meta, you risk ruining the wine if a malo-lactic ferment starts up in the presence of the sorbate.

How long does this take from start to finish? Can this be made in a bucket or does it need a carboy?

2-3 weeks ferment, after that it depends whether you plan to back-sweeten with sugar which requires that you add k-meta and k-sorbate - and the recipe recommends leaving it in secondary w/ the sugar for 2 weeks to verify no new fermentation before bottling, but if you are kegging and have a fridge to throw it right in you may not need to wait that two weeks.

OK, I'm going to bottle the Apfelwein tonight, and the first stage of the Skeeter Pee has been sitting with its towel on for two days, with occasional whipping to release the sulfur stinkies. I was planning to add the yeasty slurry from the apfelwein to the bucket the Pee is in.

Question for right away: Is that okay? I don't need to literally pour the lemony pre-pee mixture right onto the yeast that's left at the bottom of the apfelwein carboy, do I? That seems wrong a) because there's 5.5 gallons of lemony pre-pee and the carboy is just 5 gallons; b) because I can't believe it's really okay to just use the same carboy without cleaning it; and c) because I think I need to whip it from time to time while it ferments, and that'll be easier to do in a bucket since I don't have a wine whip but I do have a balloon whisk that works well.

Questions for later in the process, since I intend to backsweeten with Splenda:

1. Is it correct to just use six cups of the Splenda (or store-brand equivalent) that comes in the big bags?
2. I understand I don't have to use the sorbate in the previous step (two weeks before backsweetening). Do I still need to use K-meta?
3. Do I still have to wait the two weeks after backsweetening "to be sure no new fermentation begins" before bottling?

a) It's fine to use the same carboy without cleaning, as long as you don't mind a tiny amount of flavor crossover
b) You won't need to whip it during fermentation. It's just acidic sugar water after all.

1. I would backsweeten to taste, rather than a set amount of Splenda.
2. Nope.
3. No, because splenda isn't fermentable. You only need to wait if you are bottle carbonating.